Tag Archives: potato

Quick Garden Update 5-16-17

 

Just a few pictures of my garden over the weekend. Most plants are now producing and have been picking squash and zucchini for a while.

I am so ready for the tomatoes to get ripe.  We also have onions that should be close to pulling and jalapenos that have a good flavor to them. Hopefully we can make some salsa.

Our green beans are producing and the okra are starting to produce flowers. Definitely will have some uses for the okra… fried, sautéed, gumbo, jambalaya, and baked.

We picked some red potatoes. We tried potato boxes but never had any grow higher than the seed potato… but we still had a good crop from 16-18 plants. Next time, I will start the potatoes earlier to see if we can do a better crop. I am going to see what fall vegetables I can do with them.

If you have had success doing potato boxes, let me know what you did in order to grow potatoes higher than the seed.  Also, if anyone has had success in their garden, let us know. Pictures are always welcomed.

Thank you.

Go. Live your life, and enjoy your freedom.

Garden Update 5-6-17

The garden is growing. The squash and zucchini have already produced more than we can eat weekly. We just harvested our potatoes. Take a look at the garden and the veggies we have already picked.

 

(We already ate some of the potatoes before I even thought about getting pictures.)

Go. Live your life and enjoy your freedom.

Garden Update 4-24-17

This evening I picked 8 squash out of the garden.  I also started a YouTube channel and uploaded my very first Welcome to Freedom video… Its a little corny, but I am working on how to edit videos. Give me some time, and I will get better.

Please share your comments and subscribe to my YouTube Channel “Welcome to Freedom.”

 

Go, live life, and enjoy your freedom.

Thank you.

Food Storage: Prepper Style

Storing food for hard times, even the collapse of society as we know it, should be on everyone’s mind. There are more people living today than at any other 1 point in time, and there are more people now than all the people that have past, ever! With droughts, famines, severe weather, and cost of goods increasing, food will be hard to come by in the future.  How much should you store? How would you replenish your storage?

I like to watch different shows and videos talking about prepping for “doomsday,” extreme weather, collapse of society, civil unrest, and many other topics. Some of you reading the posts have experienced hard times and some have not. Those who have are more prepared to survive because of experience. Food is one of the necessary preps for other than ideal times to boost morale. But we have all seen the “preppers” that have gone overboard and ended up at the bottom of the ocean. Some individuals have stored food for 5-10 years or longer. Why? Are they using and rotating their storage so the food does not go bad or decrease in quality? I have been in houses where they owners bought so much food that they did not know what they had. Eventually, the jars of pickles turned white. Why? They bought too much, too often, and usually food they don’t even eat.

Many people say to have 3-6 months of food storage. This is fine depending on the situation. If it’s a hurricane, and you live in the coastal region that floods, then you are wasting your time and money. If you are in the midwest where tornadoes are prevalent and storing your food above ground, you are wasting your time and money. I laugh at the ideas that people have. If you are preparing for civil unrest and you live in an suburban or urban area and you are preparing to bunker in, then you better be well fortified. They riots in recent years have shown that the masses do not care if it is your property.

At any given time, we have  2-3 weeks of food. Our area is known for having wildfires and we will have to get out ASAP for that. On the other hand, the last tornado in our area has been more than 30 years.  Where we live is between a major Texas river and a ridgeline. It is rare for a tornado to hit such  spot based on geographical formations. I am not saying it will never happen, but it statistically low percentage.  Civil unrest would be the worst case for us outside a natural disaster. We do live in a neighborhood that houses are less than 150 feet apart. Also, we only have 2 ways in, not including heading out on the train tracks and crossing the train bridge. A river on the south and west sides, dense wooded area with steep terrain to our east, and a massive drainage ditch to our north,  it would not be hard to lockdown our neighborhood.  To stock up more than we could pack in our SUV and truck would be foolish.

When we leave during the initial stages, we would pick up supplies from various places that most would not think about. I do not share these ideas, nor have heard others ever mentioning these places on blogs or videos. Other preps for food we are doing is learning gardening. We are in our second year of gardening and doing quite well. We are making notes on how to improve on growing our crops, increasing the yield, and planting different vegetables that we will eat. You have to learn now to be able to have a chance later. Fishing and hunting are also ways we will be able to feed our family. I recently purchased a book, Wild Edible Plants of Texas. I will be using this book, finding the plants around us that we can pick to eat. I know this doesn’t seem that satisfying, but if it adds nutrition, then I will do it. I need to get out this summer and start looking for these plants and to try them. Remember, anything you gather, you definitely need to wash, just in case.

Now, if you are one of those that do have years of food stashed away, remember to rotate your stock so that you are not throwing money done the drain. Be aware of the possibility where you have to leave and you cannot carry all of your food storage with you. That goes for any preps.

If you have any thoughts on this, please reply to the blog to start a conversation.

Go, live life, and enjoy your freedom.

If you enjoy my posts, please follow me at https://welcometofreedomblog.wordpress.com . You do not need an account, just simply input your email to the follow field. I do not use your email for any other purpose besides for followers.

Stocking Up on Gold and Silver

 I hear many people in the Prepping World talking about you need to stock up on gold and silver for the post-apocalyptic world. Yes, over the history of mankind, people have sought out precious metals. Yes, it allows for a standard bartering system, if the system was only standardized though.

During the initial phase of the  post apocalyptic world, food, medicine, and basic survival needs will be the key focus and many will barter for them. One cannot eat precious metals. Gold and silver will not save the hungry. Stocking food, weapons, basic necessities of shelter will be the goal of survival, or at least the smart ones.

Investing in precious metals have its rewards, before the economy collapses. Bear and bull markets, I don’t understand derivatives and all the ways the market, but I do understand the bartering between two individuals of goods or services.

In Katrina, there were reports of looting for tvs, electronics, and other non-survival goods. Why? You cannot use a tv to save you from a wall of water. You cannot eat those $200 pair of Jordans. Yes, you need footwear, but that was not the purpose of the looting. People did loot for food and survival gear.

Ammo! Ammo is something that many people do stock up on for safety purposes, but so fail to see the bartering positives of it. Depending on how much you have, you can barter with ammo. Bullets are a dual purpose prep; you can use it for protection or to  hunt game. Back in the 1800’s, saloons would you ammo for drinks. How many bullets can fit into a glass, later coined a shot glass. The saloon owner, or the barkeep, would then sell the ammo for profit.

Alcohol, especially vodka, have many purposes. The obvious, to get drunk. It also can be used as mouthwash, antiseptic, insect repellent, and bartering, just to name a few. Items like this will be something  will be invaluable. With so many uses, it would be something worth it to stock up, or find early during the decline. Better yet, learn how to distill vodka. Knowing the process will be beneficial to save money now and after the stock is depleted  during the breakdown of society.

If you have any thoughts on this, please reply to the blog to start a conversation.

Go, live life, and enjoy your freedom.

If you enjoy my posts, please follow me at https://welcometofreedomblog.wordpress.com . You do not need an account, just simply input your email to the follow field. I do not use your email for any other purpose besides for followers.

Planting Day 3-25-17

 

 

IMG_0289Today was a beautiful day. Sun was shining and a breeze. I got in super late last night due to rain delay and lightning delay for our game. Weathermen said 80-90% chance of rain yesterday, but I think they may have meant  80-90 sprinkles at our house or we are in a geographical bubble. So, I needed to water today. I didn’t get my pump set up yet but I got another bed planted.

Today, I planted my okra, and most of my cantaloupes. I spaced theIMG_0285 cantaloupe and the okra in the row of 1 cantaloupe to every 3 okra seedlings. I found a companion planting chart (http://permaculturenews.org/2011/12/02/companion-planting-information-and-chart/) and showed that melons and okra have a symbiotic relationship. I planted 60+ okra and about 15 cantaloupe plants. If they all make, I guess I will set up a road side fruit and vegetable stand.

For the rest of the garden, the corn is coming in great, along with the potatoes. The potato box needs another level. The third picture is a close up of a potato plant. I believe those little guys in the middle coming off the stock are where the potatoes will be produced. I cannot find anything online to tell me for certain though. I need to get dirt around these if that’s the case. There are a lot on the 20 plants I have. I have cardboard lining the walking/picking rows. I am trying to find some mulch to lay over it. I also have paper to line what I could not cover with the boxes. We did this in our front flower bed as a weed barrier, and worked like a charm. It helps with moisture absorption and retention, worm food, and weed barrier. I will biodegrade and will add nutrients back to the soil. Since I am a geometry teacher, I took all the old worksheets and will be lining the garden. I will have the smartest worms in all of Texas.

The squash is coming along nicely. I have a few plants that are about 8 inches across. This IMG_0291guy here is pretty nice. His little brother not doing well but I will keep him because I am doing a trellis (field fence) with the all my vine growing vegetables. Melons will not be so lucky. I will just trim them once onset of fruit is showing to make the plant pump more energy in producing the melon.  I will be using some fish emulsion this weekend as well. I was waiting for the secondary leaves to sprout. Most postings I have read for fertilizing told me to wait until secondary leaves are formed. Next feeding will be at onset of fruit. I will double check the different plants to make sure I am feeding them the right thing.

Yes, I see the grass growing next to the fence, and I will handle that. I will be trying the vinegar and salt mixture to see if it will solve my issues. I have some ants invading, so I will use the sugar, borax and water to get rid of them. The harvesters stripped my peach tree last year and I will not let that happen this year. I think my peach tree never reached its required chill hours to produce. Not a single bloom or leaf yet. Wait and see on this one.

If you like my post, please share with your friends and follow by email with the link on the content bar to get email updates.

 

Thank you.